Paula Brébion

Paula Brébion is a significant print created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1893. This portrait, classified as a print, was executed using the medium of lithography, printed in a distinctive olive green ink upon velin paper. The use of lithography allowed Toulouse-Lautrec to achieve the spontaneous, sketch-like quality that characterized his graphic work, translating the immediacy of his observations onto the page.

The work belongs to the critical period between 1876 to 1900, capturing the spirit of the French Fin de siècle Parisian art world. During this era, Toulouse-Lautrec dedicated himself to chronicling the lives of performers, dancers, and individuals who frequented the cabarets and theaters of Montmartre. Unlike the idealized portraits popular at the time, Toulouse-Lautrec captured his subjects with frankness and psychological insight, utilizing bold outlines, flattened planes of color, and dynamic composition derived from Japanese woodblock prints.

This particular composition demonstrates the artist’s mastery of the lithographic process, reducing details to essential lines and maximizing the expressive power of the subject’s posture and gaze. The limited palette emphasizes form and shadow over naturalism, placing the piece firmly within the development of modern graphic design and fine art prints.

As a key example of the artist’s prolific output, this impression of Paula Brébion resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. The print exemplifies the high-water mark of French printmaking during the late nineteenth century. Today, detailed scans and reproductions of many historical prints from this period are made accessible through public domain initiatives, allowing global study of Toulouse-Lautrec’s influential career.